Lady Penelope - Lady Penelope, 1967

Lady Penelope strip guide - part three

Story Seven
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: The New Lady Penelope issue 53, dated 21 January 1967
A day begins innocently. The country roads are deserted as FAB 1 eats away the miles...

Penelope is taking Professor Dorian Brandon, head of the Department of World Defence Research, to see his daughter Paula at boarding school. The girl herself is out riding a bike, when a car speeds silently speeds up behind her and carefully knocks her down. A woman and two men abduct the girl, and take her to a nearby cottage where 'the surgery is ready'. An hour later, Paula is taken back to the scene, to awaken and have no recollection of the event. FAB One drives up to the school some time later, and Sir Dorian and Penelope see the girl waiting. But her mind has been shut off and, with a gun concealed behind her back, a single thought - to kill her father - replaces it...

Part 2: The New Lady Penelope issue 54, dated 28 January 1967
Bereznik strikes!
Two of Paula's schoolfriends see her, and wonder what she is hiding behind her back. The mesmerised girl says nothing as the girls take what they thnk is a toy gun and run off. The woman and her accomplices are monitoring the incident on video, and cut the control before Sir Dorian becomes suspicious, but Penelope has seen what happened. Parker manages to get the gun from the girls and, showing it to Penelope, find it is of Bereznik design. Certain another attempt may be made, they decide to say nothing but watch Paula carefully...

Part 3: The New Lady Penelope issue 55, dated 04 February 1967
Bereznik strikes again!

Parker identifies the gun as a Bereznik pattern automatic, and Penelope notes Paula did not react when it was taken, as if under mind control. She is correct, and Bereznik agents are monitoring them. Paula's next event is the javelin, and the agents seize the chance for 'an accident'. As the girl prepares to throw, they relay orders and Penelope's keen instincts save Brandon as the javelin slices through the air towards him...

Part 4: The New Lady Penelope issue 56, dated 11 February 1967
Lady Penelope takes a new job!
Penelope rushes to Paula, and asks why she nearly killed her father. The girl just stares blankly, like before, and watching again, the Bereznik agents switch off control. Paula returns to her senses, and feels dizzy. Sir Dorian is convinced it was an accident, but Penelope and Parker wonder if the girl is a double, or has been hypnotised. Wanting to keep an eye on Paula, Penelope suggests to headmistress Miss Calpern she would like to give some lessons on fashion and beauty, and is accepted. However, the next day during the lesson, Paula is called to take a phone call from her father. As penelope tries to think of an excuse to follow, Miss Calpern arrives to hear the lesson. Outside, Paula is instructed by the Bereznik agents the call was from them, and they send her to her father's hotel to kill him...

Part 5: The New Lady Penelope issue 57, dated 18 February 1967
Penny rides a bike!

Penelope creates a diversion by spilling her foundation cream, and Miss Capern dismisses her to change. Finding the girl who gave Paula the message, Penelope finds she has gone off on a cycle towards the professor's hotel. Alerting Parker to keep watch, Penelope follows Paula on another borrowed cycle. Under control, Paula is ordered to find a grenade hidden in shrubs behind the hotel, but when Parker spots her, she turns on him savagely...

Part 6: The New Lady Penelope issue 58, dated 25 February 1967
Paula Learns The Truth...
Penelope finds Parker recovering outside, and they rush to Sir Dorian's room to find Paula about to detonate a grenade. Using her compact, Penelope stuns the girl with powder, as the Bereznik agents once again cut control. In the school hospital, Paula is seen by Doctor Lasky, a leading authority on brain damage, who finds a small implant has been placd in her neck - radio waves control both thought and action. Paula is told the truth and wants to make amends, and with the implant adjusted so it relays the instructions but not the impulse to obey, Penelope waits. But they do not know the implant relays a video signal, and the Bereznik agents plan to kill them all...

Part 7: The New Lady Penelope issue 59, dated 04 March 1967
The end of the trail!

Penelope tells Paula not to talk aloud so the Bereznik agents do not realise Parker is tracing the signal. Paula leads Penelope and Brandon to a house a short distance across the fields, and the Berezniks reveal themselves. They plan to burn the house down with Penelope and her friends inside while escaping. But a searching Parker distracts them long enough for Penelope to kick off her boot, triggering a high explosive in the heel. The enemy agents are dealt with, and Parker arrives to take them back to the girls' school.

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 35/1967 to 41/1967

Notes:
• The crystalline hub of the Bereznik control machine looks curiously like a Mysteron, from the TV Tornado which appeared toward the end of the year.
• In parts 5 and 6, the saucer shaped hotel may be based on the South Bank Exhibition 'The Dome of Discovery', which stood on the South Bank in 1951.

Story Eight
Writer: Unknown. Artist: John M. Burns. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: The New Lady Penelope issue 60, dated 11 March 1967
The Creighton-Ward mansion is silent, the windows shuttered, the doors locked.

Penelope and Parker are going on a cruise to the Bahamas in FAB Two, for some much deserved peace and quiet... but they are being observed. In the Atlantic, black clouds become a portent for a raging storm, and the autopilot George packs up. Plunging helplessly in mountainous seas, Penelope has to carry Parker to their cabins when he is knocked unconscious. After several hours, the wind dies and the yacht drifts helplessly until Parker spots an island. It seems deserted with no sign of human life but as they climb a cliff to see what is on the other side, they are unprepared for the sight of Creighton-Ward Mansion in the valley below...

Part 2: The New Lady Penelope issue 61, dated 18 March 1967
A Deadly Plot!
Penelope and Parker move closer to investigate, unaware they are being observed from within. They are less prepared when they find themselves facing... themselves! Another woman introduces herself as Helen Lester, and the other Penelope and Parker - Angela and Arthur - pull off their wigs. Lester reveals she has friends in important places in the Western Government, and they believe Penelope acts as an agent. Replacing Penelope and Parker will allow them to receive the information passed into their hands. Parker knocks out his double, letting Penelope escape. But Lester's voice calls out, telling her to examine the sea before she dives in. Sharks patrol the island, and Penelope turns to see her holding Parker at gunpoint...

Part 3: The New Lady Penelope issue 62, dated 25 March 1967
The Third Degree!

Miss Lester takes Penelope and Parker into the fake mansion, explaining it is the result of months of planning. Over the next forty-eight hours, the two are ruthlessly interrogated about their interests, routines, and trivia which will help the doubles infiltrate their lives. Parker is nearly fooled by the duplicate Penelope, and in a brief period of rest with the real Ladyship, they realise the doubles are nearly ready. But this could work both ways, and Parker feigns sickness so Penelope can tackle her double. After a quick exchange of clothes, Penelope is able to walk free in the guise of her double and get to FAB Two. But as she calls Jeff Tracy and International Rescue for help, Miss Lester appears behind her with a gun, and tells her to acknowledge the reply...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 63, dated 01 April 1967
A change in the weather!
Penelope has no choice but to acknowledge Jeff Tracy's call - that she pick up some plans of Brains' latest modification to Thunderbird 2. Lester will send her Lady Penelope instead, and it seems nothing can stop her. Penelope and Parker are put under guard, but a ruse of feigning defeat allows then to overpower him. Using the weather control device used to bring them to the island, Penelope is able to divert the cargo ship 'Southern Star' towards them. They now have a means of escape but Penelope and Parker must stop Lester first...

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 64, dated 08 April 1967
A race against time!
The skipper of the 'Southern Star' is puzzled when Lady Penelope and Parker flag him down, but his own radio was damaged in the storm. He volunteers to take them to Venezuela, the ship's destination. But Lester has taken her agents to London, and Sir William passes over the plans without realising the deception. Penelope finally reaches Venezuela, and calls Sir William. As he is told to contact Jeff Tracy about the situation, Penelope tries a plan from her end. As the Thunderbirds swing into action, she hires a high speed spotter plane, and FAB Two is sighted heading for Malaysia - the home of the Hood...

Part 6: Lady Penelope issue 65, dated 15 April 1967
Over to the Hood!

Flying high overhead, Penelope sees FAB Two off the coast, and the Hood's ray blaster - which will destroy them if they get too close. Switching to automatic pilot, the plane keeps low over the sea, and Penelope and parker dive in - to swim to the yacht. They overpower their doubles and confront Lester, who is confidently awaiting the Hood. But Parker makes it clear he will shoot her, and Lester backs down. Under Penelope's instruction, the woman makes her trade with the Hood, before being taken away to be handed over to World Security. On Tracy Island, Penelope and Parker show Jeff the million pounds the Hood handed over... for a railway timetable from London to Crewe!

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 42/1967 to 47/1967

Notes:
• The last two parts of this strip, while still drawn as a two page spread, were moved to pages 18 and 19 as special four page pull-out poster features of the four stars of The Monkees were run, boosting the page count to 24 for four weeks.

Story Nine
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. Colour centrespread.

Part One: Lady Penelope issue 66, dated 22 April 1967
Parker gets an invitation...

The morning sun shines warmly on postman Wilson as he steers leisurely up the drive towards the Creighton-Ward mansion...
Parker brings Lady Penelope her post... only one letter is for him. Opening it, he finds it is an invitation which reads: Mr. Vermine King requests the pleasure of the company of Mr. Parker and one guest at the Fancy Dress ball to be held at Beauclair Hall, Hempel le Ford, on March 26. In the international underground, there is a mob called 'The Rats', and when they call on your services, you do not refuse! Penelope decides they should visit Mr Vermine rat - tonight at midnight! Evading the dog patrols, Penelope and Parker gain access to the Hall by scaling the drain pipe, and then climbing down the chimney. Emerging in a darkened room, they see a couple of open coffins - and inside, Parker recognises the occupants as Lefty Stevens and Greek Johnny...

Part Two: Lady Penelope issue 67, dated 29 April 1967
The Ape Man!
The men are dead, and Penelope tells Parker to put out his torch as someone is coming. Ape-like henchman Speigal carries off Lefty as 'the King wants to give you his orders'. Peneope and Parker leave by the chimney but Speigal sees their sooty prints on the floor when he returns, and raises the alarm. Parker decides Penelope should stay put on the roof, and he dodges gunfire in a mad dash for FAB One. Reaching the Rolls, he blasts his way through the garden wall, and uses a smokescreen to mask the boot elevator as he rescues her Ladyship. Driving off, Penelope decides e should visit the costumers for something suitable for the fancy dress, but then Parker notices they have company...

Part Three: Lady Penelope issue 68, dated 06 May 1967
Message from King Rat...

A car is following them, but missiles fired from the rear of FAB One make short work of it. At Beauclair Hall, King Rat himself admonishes his motley crew for letting the intruders escape, and Barney - who set up the alarm system - is taken away by Ape Speigal for punishment. Rat has a guest, an elegant masked woman, who is shown film that identifies Parker as one intruder. As he is already on the 'intake list', the invitation is withdrawn, and 'necessary arrangements' made. While Penelope and Parker visit Andre's in Bond Street for the fancy dress costumes, a package arrives at the mansion for the chauffeur. Inside is a dead rat - Parker is now on the mob's death list...

Part Four: Lady Penelope issue 69, dated 13 May 1967
At the ball...
Parker notices something else in the package, and throws Penelope and Lil to the floor as it explodes. They survive unharmed, and Penelope calls on her cousin Jeremy Creighton-Ward at Scotland Yard, asking him to move in on Beauclair Hall at midnight. penelope arranges for Parker's death to be reported in the Evening Post, while still planning to attend the ball. King Rat is surprised, hearing of Parker's 'little accident', but the chauffeur dismisses the news as being his twin brother Albert. Introducing Lady Penelope as his girlfriend, Miss Nellie Ward, parker mingles until the two of them get the chance to split up and search separately. But Parker is found by Rat, and a hooded executioner raises his axe...

Part Five: Lady Penelope issue 70, dated 20 May 1967
Parker sleeps!

The executioner grabs Parker, and holds him while the masked woman inects him. As Parker is laid out, a maximum security alarm sounds, and 'Madame' goes to the control centre to investigate. Penelope's ring also flashes an alarm - Parker is in danger. She hides as the criminal guests flee, as Jeremy and the police arrive, and homes in on Parker.Using an explosive rose to blast the lock, she finds Parker and - seeing a pitched fight with the police outside - decides they should leave. Pulling the long drapes of her dress aside to reveal a jet pack, Penelope hoists Parker over her shoulder, and flies off. But Madame has seen them, and Ape is ordered to stop them. A rifle blast hits the jet pack...

Part Six: Lady Penelope issue 71, dated 27 May 1967
To Beauclair Hall again!
Penelope and Parker fall into the branches of a tree, to be rescued by Jeremy. The unconscious Parker is taken to Daversham Cottage Hospital, where a police surgeon finds the drug used lowers body temperature, and keeps things alive indefinitely. As the criminals lose their fight with the police, Madame X summons King Rat to a secret pasage - to be condemned to eternal sleep himself for failure. penelope checks with Jeremy, and finds Speigle and Vermine King have escaped. Parker has now recovered, and he joins Penelope as she returns to Beauclair Hall. They find the secret passage, which leads to the cellars, and a closed vault...

Part Seven: Lady Penelope issue 72, dated 03 June 1967
Beauclair Hall's secret!
Madame X and Ape watch as Parker cracks the vault, and he enters with Penelope. Inside, they find 'The King' and other notable underworld craftsmen, frozen in a deep trance. Madame X addresses them from a hidden speaker, and the vault door shuts, sealing Penelope and Parker to a frozen fate. Realising they are probably being watched, Penelope starts a fire and Ape is sent down to put it out and deal with them. But the old trick of applying her make-up before death allows Penelope to gas him, and a smouldering tinder start a fire in Beauclair Hall itself. Penelope and Parker carry the mesmerised bodies clear before the whole place is an inferno.
Lady Penelope

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 48/1967 to 02/1968

Notes:
• The first two parts of this strip were on pages 18 and 19, as special four page pull-out poster features of the four stars of The Monkees were run in the centre.
• Lil the cook (seen in the episode 'Vault of Death', and a regular in the strip Perils of Parker) makes a rare appearance in parts 3 and 4.
• Photos of Penelope and Parker in fancy dress from the episode 'Lord Parker's 'Oliday' provide Frank Langford with reference for parts 3 to 5, and one of these appears on the cover of issue 72, and issue 51 (1967) of Dutch counterpart TV2000.
• Specially posed photos, of Lady Penelope and Parker by the vault door from the episode 'Give Or Take A Million, were taken for use on the cover of issue 72, and issue 2 (1968) of Dutch counterpart TV2000. Some of these were also used by Frank Langford for reference, and another was also used on the cover of the Century 21 mini-album 'Vault Of Death'.

Story Ten
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 73, dated 10 June 1967

In Lady Penelope's stately home, it is breakfast time...
Penelope asks for the newspaper but Parker has spilt coffee over it. He tells her the lead story is about a crank called Count Lorenzo holding the world to ransom by threatening to blow up the Moon, and the Houses of Parliament. On the other side of the world (where it is supper time), Jeff Tracy and his family hear the World Government has decided to ignore the threat. But he calls on Penelope with other news - she has been nominated President... of the Spacewoman's Club. Penelope is already an honarary member, and stands against Miss Tuller and Miss Lander for the position. She wins unanimously - 130 votes against 67 and 14 - but then an objection is raised as Penelope has never been into space...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 74, dated 17 June 1967
Lady Penelope goes into training!
Penelope is called to address the Club, and to make herself eligible in the member's eyes, elects to fly to the Moon and back as her first task. The movement is unanimous, and a trained spacewoman, Linda Williams, is chosen to assist Penelope on her two week induction period. Meanwhile, Count Lorenzo listens as the news transmission state the World Government dismiss his threat to destroy the Moon as that of a harmless crank. Penelope's training pass in a whirl of activity, and she is passed for space travel. That night from the space port tower, Penelope and Linda look down on the XL craft that will carry them but unknown to them, Lorenzo is also there...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 75, dated 24 June 1967
The Count's Plan!
Lorenzo tests out his explosive on a model set, and knows who can take the real thing to the Moon for him. Penelope and Linda choose the latest fashion design of spacesuit, and one is charged to be delivered to Penelope later. But Lorenzo intercepts the delivery van, knocks out the driver, and places his explosive capsules in the circulation system of the spacesuit. The driver recovers, and delivers it, unaware of the addition...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 76, dated 01 July 1967
Penny walks in space

Penelope and Linda board the spaceship, and it blasts off for the Moon. In space, Penelope asks the captain if she can take a spacewalk, and as the ship enters orbit around the Moon, she is suited up and ready. Watched by Linda and one of the astronauts, Penelope is harnessed to the ship and floats outside. But one of Lorenzo's capsules explodes ahead of time, and with her suit damaged and the harness broken, Penelope drifts off into space...

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 77, dated 08 July 1967
The fingerprint!
The astronaut grabs a thruster pack and rescues Penelope. Taken to a relaxation bay to recover, Penelope awakes to find explosive capsules have been found in the water system of her suit. Landing at Moonbase, the crew is transferred by a lunar hover vehicle to the laboratory, where the other capsules are examined. One has a fingerprint on it, but then another capsule breaks and the pure oxygen ignites...

Part 6: Lady Penelope issue 78, dated 15 July 1967
The Count plots again!
Everyone runs for the airlock into the next compartment, so the oxygen can be released from the lab, putting out the fire. If the fire had destroyed the base, life on the Moon would have been destroyed. Penelope managed to save the image of the fingerprint from the blaze, and can find out who 'Count Lorenzo' is on returning to Earth. Penelope and Linda enjoy their day on the Moon exploring, before making the journey back. Parker welcomes Penelope back, and takes her to Scotland Yard where the fingerprint yields a match - Johnathan Mitchel. But the Count has seen her return, and puts part two of his scheme into operation...

Part 7: Lady Penelope issue 79, dated 22 July 1967
"'e's a regular Guy Fawkes, M'lady!"

By the time Penelope and Parker arrive at Mitchel's home, he has already gone. Braking in, they find the laboratory he made the capsules in, and a large display of London - he now plans to destroy the Houses of Parliament. Racing to London, Penelope does not think the police will believe them, as there is an all-night sitting for a tough debate. From Westminster Bridge, they ponder how Mitchel will do it, when a boat approaches at speed. Penelope suddenly dives into the water as the boat swings towards Parliament...

Part 8: Lady Penelope issue 80, dated 29 July 1967
Prisoner!
As Parker watches, the vessel changes course and stops near Penelope. At gunpoint, Mitchel - aka Count Lorenzo - invite her aboard. She knows too much, and he plans to kill her while carrying out his threat. Mitchel escapes in a miniature submarine, while the boat is aimed at Parliament again. Seeing the tell tale bubbles in the water, Parker fires FAB One's cannons, and the Rolls plunges into the river...

Part 9: Lady Penelope issue 81, dated 05 August 1967
Parker to the rescue!

Parker puts the hydrofoils down, and FAB One speeds to intercept the vessel. Locking the controls so the boat is pushed in a tight circle, Parker climbs aboard and rescues penelope. Mitchel has returned home, but Penelope follows in the vessel with Parker close behind in FAB One. Too late, Penelope realises she does not know how to stop the vessel, and jumps clear as it plunges into Mitchel's home. Outraged, Mitchel confronts them, but the police arrive - called by Parker - and Penelope is rescued to become President of the Spacewoman's Club.

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 03/1968 to 11/1968

Notes:
• In part 1, Penelope has a video receiver concealed in the handle of her tennis racket.
• In part 2, Frank Langford marks the World Space Patrol craft as XL5, but it looks as this has been deliberately made indistinct and no further markings are seen. However, the designation is quite clear on the Dutch TV2000 reprint, suggesting this was done at a late stage while at the printers.
• The 'space port' is also clearly based on Space City, although this is never referred to by name.
• In part 3, the pilot is obviously drawn as Steve Zodiac, even though he is not referred to by name, only by the rank Captain.
• In part 5, the 'lunar hover vehicle' is based on designs for the then-unused Apollo Lunar Service Module.
• In part 6, Penelope and Linda explore the Moon on Fireball XL5-style jet scooters. Frank Langford would later use this design for young Penny Creighton-Ward's futuristic bike.
• In part 7, for Lorenzo's laboratory display of London, Langford appears to incorporate sections of actual maps of the capitol in his artwork.

Story Eleven
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 82, dated 12 August 1967
At World TV's London studios, the weekly programme, World Sport, begins...

Penelope is being interviewed as she and Parker are entering the All Europe Car Rally. At a nearby luxury hotel, Colonel Siblov and his team plan to cheat to ensure Bereznik takes the three winning places - but one woman among them has other ideas. FAB One is scutineered, and all the cars locked up until the rally begins but when Penelope returns to her room she finds a note: Watch Siblov - he plans to CHEAT! Penelope tells Parker to watch the colonel, and he follows him to the car lock-up. The guard has been bribed to allow Siblov and his team get in and sabotage the other other cars. But after they leave, Parker is locked in...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 83, dated 19 August 1967
Disqualified!
Deciding not to panic, Parker investigates what the men have been up to and finds small devices on all but the Bereznik car. Reporting to Penelope from FAB One, she tells him what to do, and shortly the Rolls' horn goes off continuously. As guards open up to investigate, Parker makes good his escape. The next day, Siblov tests the signals of the bugs, and finds they have been stuck to the door of their room witha message saying 'Bereznik Cheats!' Hearing his anger, Natasha peeks from her room and decides Penelope may be a valuable ally later on. But when Penelope goes collect her rally documents, she is summoned to see the controller Mr Jones, who states he has no alternative but to disqualify her...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 84, dated 26 August 1967
Penny Tries To Explain!
The controller has film of Parker, taken with an infra-red camera, in the locked garage. Penelope explains, using the device Parker found and the note she was given. The controller decides to investigate, and will let her know his decision later. The Bereznik team believe Penelope will be disqualified, but she is told to collect her documents and join the starters. Departing at five minute intervals, the cars drive down the M5 to the Channel Tunnel, into Europe and on to the pyrenees. Soon, FAB One catches up with one of the Bereznik cars, but the driver plans to nudge them over a drop as it overtakes...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 85, dated 02 September 1967
A Fatal Accident!

Natasha veers the car away from FAB One, saving Penelope but plunging their own car over the cliff. Perched precariously in a tree, Parker has just enough time to winch down and save Natasha before it plummets into the ravine and explodes. Parker informs Penelope the man was already dead, and as FAB One breaks from the route to find a doctor, she comforts the girl. But Natasha has a gun, and insists they continue with the rally...

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 86, dated 09 September 1967
Natasha's Plan!
Penelope has no option but to tell Parker to 'step on it', and FAB One accelerates. But it also has another meaning, and Parker slams hard on the brake, throwing Natasha off-balance, allowing Penelope to get her gun. The girl breaks down, explaining she has planned for a whole year to rescue her sister Ludmilla Rostov from the Bereznik State Ballet School. Penelope agrees to help, and Natasha is smuggled past checkpoints in a hidden compartment in FAB One, and as they travel to Bereznik, they make plans. But at the first checkpoint for the country, the colonel in charge arrests Penelope and Parker on suspicion of carrying contraband and impounds FAB One for a thorough search...

Part 6: Lady Penelope issue 87, dated 16 September 1967
Penny plays it cool!
The guards find FAB One is locked, and Penelope demands a good reason for the search and wats the other competitors cars looked at too. The commisar orders the doors shot open - not realising FAB One is bullet-proof! The watching public crowd get restless, and Colonel Siblov is forced to let the incident pass and FAB One goes free. From his helijet, Siblov watches the Rolls' progress, as Parker blasts a fallen tree used to stop people taking the wrong fork in the road. This leads to Castle Serov, where Ludmilla Rostov is imprisoned. Siblov decides he must investigate...

Part 7: Lady Penelope issue 88, dated 23 September 1967
The plan...
Penelope has got Natasha to write a letter and, driving up to the gates of Castle Siblov, tries to bluff with ballet school principal Madame Kabor that she has permission to interview Ludmilla. Brute force has to suffice when this fails, and Kabor frees the girl - just as Siblov's helijet arrives. Parker covers Penelope and Ludmilla as they reach FAB One, and Natasha proves her worth as a driver. Once clear of the castle, Parker takes over the vehicle, and shoots down Siblov's helijet before escaping over a lake to Russia. Weeks later, Natasha joins Penelope and Parker to watch Ludmilla perform at Covent Garden.

Lady Penelope Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 12/1968 to 18/1968

Notes:
• Oops - in part 1, the first leg of the rally takes place on the M5 leading to the Channel Tunnel. The M5 was already under construction in 1962, and eventually linked Birmingham and Exeter in 1977. It more accurately should have been the M2, which was originally planned to link London and Dover where the Tunnel would begin, at the time the strip was written.
• In part 5, Frank Langford draws a wonderfully stylised map of Europe showing the location of Bereznik, and the route the rally takes.

Story Twelve
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 89, dated 30 September 1967

A rare moment of relaxation for Lady Penelope. But then an urgent message from Security Control...
REQUEST REPORT ON DR. ARTHUR JENSON - INTELLIGENCE SUGGEST INTEREST BEREZNIK
Within minutes, Penelope is being driven by Parker in FAB One to Jenson's nearby laboratory. The scientist is testing a device which changes personality, causing two boys in a playground to stop fighting and become friends! Using her cover as a journalist, Penelope tries to ask about his work but Jenson merely talks about his new interest in astronomy. When Parker alerts Penelope to two other vehicles nearby also seemingly interested in the doctor, they go to investigate. Jenson does not know who to trust, and as Penelope and Parker realise the cars are simply connected to a nearby heliport construction they hear an explosion. The laboratory is ablaze, and Penelope rushes into save Jenson, but he is nowhere to be found...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 90, dated 07 October 1967
To Bereznik!
Penelope and Parker retreat outside as fire fighters arrive, but they also find no trace of Jenson. Penelope's report triggers a top level security conference, and she is ordered to penetrate Berezmik territory and locate the doctor. However, in Bereznik, the military are also searching for Jenson, believing the opposition started the fire to thwart their agents kidnap plan! Using a midget submarine, Penelope and Parker reach Bereznik, and use a jammer to block the security screens. It works too well, making the operator suspicious and starting an alarm. As a large troop of Bereznik guards swarm the area, Penelope and Parker find themselves trapped...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 91, dated 14 October 1967
The Happiness Gun

From a remote island off the Bereznik coast, Jenson is watching and activates his Happiness Gun - and suddenly the hostile troops turn friendly, welcoming Penelope and Parker to their country! They are escorted to their waiting sub rendezvous before returning. Back at base, the consequences of the weapon are realised, as do the Bereznik military, and a wholesale search is ordered...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 92, dated 21 October 1967
Tracking down the doctor!
The World Government put out an emergency broadcast for Jenson to submit to their protection but the doctor does not rely on politicians, considering the ensuring of world peace is his responsibility alone. A massive search is launched from the west to find him, but Bereznik scientists have determined his device works on soundwaves. As this makes it possible to pinpoint its location, the general decides to encourage the doctor to use it. Penelope and Parker are also searching in FAB Two, and witness vessels in a Bereznik fleet apparently firing on each other. Jenson is also watching, and a green light flares in the sky, giving the Berezniks the information they need. As the ships head off, Penelope is sure they are after Jenson and follows them...

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 93, dated 28 October 1967
The doctor is found!

FAB Two gets to the island first, and using skin gear, Penelope and Parker swim ashore and find Jenson's laboratory. The doctor refuses to leave his work, even knowing the Berezniks are close, but does not want his invention to fall into the wrong hands. As the troops advance, opening fire, Jenson realises his weapon will not bring world peace but violence and pain. He breaks cover and surrenders, leading the troops to his lab. Jenson's assistant realises the doctor has his own plan, and sure enough, the laboratory explodes - killing everyone inside and destroying the Happiness Gun. A grim silence hangs over the island, leaving Penelope to ponder, 'It was a wonderful thought - a machine that would make war impossible... but it seems the world isn't ready for universal peace. And machines won't make us change - that can only come from people's hearts...'

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issues 19/1968 to 23/1968

Notes:
• From part 2 of this strip, while it was still being drawn as a two page spread, Lady Penelope once again moved to pages 18 and 19 as another series of special four page pull-out poster features of The Monkees was run.
• In part 2, the appearance of the Western security conference Penelope attends is based on the SSEC conference room from the film Thunderbirds Are Go!.
• In appearance, Frank Langford bases the Bereznik General on the Hood or Black Phantom from the recently filmed Thunderbird 6 movie, while his console (seen in part 3) is based on that of the Controller of Glenn Field from the film Thunderbirds Are Go!
Lady Penelope
• In part 3, Frank Langford uses one of Ron Embleton's Stingray strips - part 5 of The Uranium Plant Invasion - as reference for the Western port the midget sub returns to (above).
• For the last frame of part 3, Langford once again incorporates part of a real map, and draws the General and his shadow over it.

Story Thirteen
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. 2 pages, colour.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 94, dated 04 November 1967
Tokyo, Japan... and attending an international children's fair as a guest of World Government official Toshio Nakamura is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, with Parker...

Parker has been playing nursemaid to Nakamura's youung daughter Nicci, and while the exasperated chauffeur escorts him back to FAB One, Penelope takes the girl round the fair. Unknown to her, they are being monitored by a Japanese man from hidden and disguised video monitors. As they walk past the doll pavilion, a man tempts Nicci inside. Choosing a geisha dancer doll which Penelope buys for her, Nicci is given an identical one on the instructions of the Japanese master. That night, as Nicci sleeps, the doll gets out of its box and starts to mesmerise her...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 95, dated 11 November 1967
Cold feet for Penny, and a knock on the head for Parker!
Penelope hears the voice, and goes to investigate but only finds Nicci playing. The next day, Penelope is taken to Tiriguchi, where rice is artificially produced and kept frozen until needed. But then Nicci's doll stirs, and commands her to push Penelope and Nakamura into the freezer, locking them in. Penelope is equipped for such situations, and calls Parker with a radio concealed in her rose. But when the chauffeur comes to free them, Nicci knocks him out with a wrench...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 96, dated 18 November 1967
Cold feet for Lady Penelope!
As Nakamura hammers on the door, Penelope tries to contact Parker on her rose radio. It takes a few minutes for the chauffeur to recover but he opens the door in time for a chilled but still living Penelope and Nakamura to stumble out. Nakamura does not believe Parker's story that it was Nicci who knocked him out with a spanner, but then the girl is seen climbing the dome with her doll. Following her, Penelope is surprised to hear the doll instructing Nicci, and is certain she is under someone's power. Nicci is opening the main gauge of the pressurisation control - another five degrees and the dome will blow apart. Penelope throws herself at the girl, but the doll tries to mesmerise her. Ordered to stand, Penelope teeters on the edge of the high platform, and on the brink of eternity...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 97, dated 25 November 1967
Penny in peril!
A last, fantastic effort of will... and Penelope seizes her shoe and blasts the doll with the gun concealed in the heel. Nicci comes to her senses, and is reunited with her father. Penelope and Parker realise they need to locate the source of the hypnotic transmissions in case other children are taken over in the same way. The lead is the international children's fair where the doll was bought, but the owners will know they are coming as the doll was destroyed. Inside, a voice calling himself 'lord of the puppets' welcomes them, as toy bowmen firing poison-tipped arrows take aim. Penelope sees wires leading to a wall, and a secret control room is revealed. parker takes out the guards, and Penelope's own gas button deals of the 'lord'. A job for the police now, after Penelope has chosen a new doll for Nicci to replace the one she broke.

Notes:
• This story does not appear to have been reprinted.

Story Fourteen
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. 2 pages, colour.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 98, dated 02 December 1967

Penelope has been summoned by Belinda Wilson, editor of the world's leading women's magazine Femme. She tells Penelope the story of Prunella Braithwaite, a famous novelist with a fad for balloons, who had four best sellers by the time she was twenty-one. An actor, Hugh Conroy, fell in love with and she would not consent unless he proposed to her in a hot air balloon one thousand feet high. Tragically, the balloon caught fire, and Conroy was killed in the fall. The heartbroken Prunella survived, falling into the sea, but after recovering she bought a remote Scottish island and cut herself from civilisation. Belinda is certain Prunella did not stop writing and if she has another book, she wants it for Femme. Penelope is curious why Belinda did not ask Prunella directly, but film of the forbidding cliffs which make the island unapproachable by sea answer the question, as does a shotgun weilding bailiff. A helijet takes supplies once a month, but it is not allowed to land. If anyone can get to Prunella, it is Penelope! Flattered by the challenge, Penelope returns home but that night has a bad dream about falling. But as she tells Parker, the answer is now clear - they can reach the island by balloon...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 99, dated 09 December 1967
Up in the air!
The next morning, Parker tells Penelope he thought the comment was a joke. But it is not, and Penelope gets Belinda to lay out the cost of hire. Being sentimental about balloons, Prunella will hardly shoot it out of the sky. A balloon club in Dorset trains up Penelope and Parker for the trip, and while the balloon is ferried to Scotland, they journey up the coast in FAB Two. The following morning, the balloon has been set up, and the two take to the air. But as they approach the island, the balloon is spotted, and a rifle blasts at it...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 100, dated 16 December 1967
A bumpy landing!
The balloon is punctured, and starts to drop towards the sea. The gunman, Dougal McEwan, watches as Parker shifts his weight, and controls the direction of the escaping gas to take them over the island. The balloon settles on a mountain peak, and McEwan holds them at gunpoint. Penelope explains who she is and why they are there, and unless they want the island invaded by journalists, he will take them to see Prunella.

But the old lady has an odd look in her eyes, telling them there is no book and to leave in peace. As McEwan takes Penelope and Parker to the shore and a rowboat, an armed man takes Prunella back to her room. The man joins McEwan on the cliff to watch Penelope and Parker row away, but they have been directed to 'Campbell's Graveyard', which they will not survive...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 101, dated 23 December 1967
Lost in the mist!
Penelope is certain Prunella is scared, and that they were allowed to leave too easily. Parker hears something, and Penelope's keen instincts know it is not the wind. It is a tidal race, forming a whirlpool, and Penelope joins Parker at the oars in a battle against the elements. Hours pass, and the exhausted two are finally out of danger. In the mist, they hear a hovercraft but see no navigation lights. A coastguard launch suddenly appears, smashing the rowing boat. They are picked up, and the captain apologises, for they were pursuing a suspect. Penelope bluffs they way for a return to FAB Two, and contacts Belinda. The editor begs for her to hand the matter over to the authorities but Penelope wants twelve hours - after which Belinda can call the police. FAB Two closes on the island, masked by mist, and Penelope and Parker use diving gear and wrist radars. But while in the water, they see the mystery hovercraft nearby...

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 102, dated 30 December 1967
The Rescue!
Stealing aboard, Parker finds it empty but hiding their diving gear, a box of mint condition Victorian sovereigns is found. Climbing the cliff by the ropes from their wrecked balloon, Penelope and Parker reach the Braithwaite house and climb in through Prunella's window. They rescue the woman, and she provides a diversion for Penelope to jump the pursuing McEwan as Parker gets the hovercraft ready. They escape in the craft, and Parker radios the authorities to pick up the stranded men from the island. A week later, Belinda throws a party at Femme magazine for the double scoop - Penelope routing the gold smugglers, and Prunella selling the serial rights to the most wanted book of the decade.

Reprinted:
TV2000 - issue 39/1968
Penelope Annual 1972

Notes:
• In part 1, The Strand is depicted as a series of flyovers, towering over Nelson's column.